See How Reese Witherspoon Has Slayed the Same Hair Trends During Different Decades

Reese Witherspoon turns 40 today, and while she chose to throw herself a party complete with a private Taylor Swift concert over the weekend, we chose to celebrate by revisiting photos of all her red carpet beauty looks—dating way back to her breakout roles in Legally Blonde, Election, and Cruel Intentions (how did American pop culture even exist before these films?). These days, we usually picture Witherspoon as blond bombshell who gravitates toward big hair. Who can forget that Barbie-worthy clip-in ponytail she wore at the 2011 Oscars, for example? But as we clicked through her photographic history, we were reminded that this is one Oscar-winning actress who's not afraid to experiment, change up her bangs, get a major chop—her hair's been short almost as often as it's been long—or take her color from light to dark to keep things interesting. Then something else dawned on us: When you're a famous actress for as long as Witherspoon has been, you get to slay the same hair trends over and over again, across different decades—and in her case, prove that some things only get better with age. Take a look at how this 2015 Glamour Woman of the Year and freshly

Reese Witherspoon turns 40 today, and while she chose to throw herself a party complete with a private Taylor Swift concert over the weekend, we chose to celebrate by revisiting photos of all her red carpet beauty looks—dating way back to her breakout roles in Legally Blonde, Election, and Cruel Intentions (how did American pop culture even exist before these films?).

These days, we usually picture Witherspoon as blond bombshell who gravitates toward big hair. Who can forget that Barbie-worthy clip-in ponytail she wore at the 2011 Oscars, for example? But as we clicked through her photographic history, we were reminded that this is one Oscar-winning actress who's not afraid to experiment, change up her bangs, get a major chop—her hair's been short almost as often as it's been long—or take her color from light to dark to keep things interesting. Then something else dawned on us: When you're a famous actress for as long as Witherspoon has been, you get to slay the same hair trends over and over again, across different decades—and in her case, prove that some things only get better with age. Take a look at how this 2015 Glamour Woman of the Year and freshly minted 40-year old-has evolved her hair over the years while sticking to her classic Southern-girl roots.